Saturday, February 24, 2018

RDF calls for Release Damodar Turi immediately and unconditionally!! Revoke the draconian ban on MSS and other organisations!! Stop Operation Greenhunt and war on people under the name of internal security!!

Release DamodarTuri immediately and unconditionally!! Revoke the draconian ban on MSS and other organisations!! Stop Operation Greenhunt and war on people under the name of internal security!!Stand in solidarity with the struggles of peasants, adivasis for their Jal-Jungle Jameen!!Continuing its ongoing assault on people’s movement, and to further the plunder of natural resources by imperialist sharks, the fascist Raghuwar Das government arrested Damodar Turi by branding him as an ‘important’ leader of MSS.Though he is not a member of the MSS but the state police have arrested him by linking him with the outfit.It has been clear that the Jharkhand government is hell bent on handing over the key to natural resources to corporates by all means and any opposition to this policy is being silenced by gun of the State.It is pertinent to mention here that Damodar Turi has been actively leading mass struggles from forefront from the days of the statehood of Jharkhand movement.He has actively organized the masses on behalf of the Jharkhand Liberation Front (JLF), which organized people with a call to free Jharkhand from exploitation (Soshan Mukt Jharkahand). Since the emergence and inception of this new state, the sellout of its natural resources to foreign transnational companies and their domestic lackeys began through hundreds of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) shattering the aspiration of exploited and oppressed masses.He immediately stood against such moves of newly formed state government, and participated and organized struggles for the Jal-Jungle-Jameen of the peasants, adivasis of Jharkhand. In 2006, he took initiative to form ‘Visthapan virodhi samanway samiti, Jharkhand and All India level organization Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan to resist Memorandum of Understanding to plunder natural resources of mineral rich areas.From the last 20 years, Damodar has been participating in various mass struggles in Ranchi, Bokaro, Girdih, Gumla, Santhal Pargana. In particular, his immense contribution to the struggle against the Operation Green hunt (a multipronged militarily attack on people by the Congress Regime to curb Maoist revolutionaries and to grab land and natural resources for corporate) is notable. He led the struggle against death penalty to cultural artist Jiten Marandi in 2011.He took initiative to fight for justice for MotiLal Baske who was killed by State armed forces in a fake encounter. Damodar was the one who vehemently opposed amendments in Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) and Santhal Pragana Tenancy Act (SPT) to facilitate land grabbing in favour of corporate. This has made him the sore in the eyes of state government, which is unleashing a tranche of anti-people policies. Damodar has been the target of Jharkhand police since he questioned the policies of state government since its very inception.Firstly, the state police tried to implicate him under draconian law POTA under which thousands of struggling masses were implicated falsely soon after the formation of new state. At that time, not even his family was spared from the torture. Later, in 2008 he was incarcerated in jail for 9 months for a false case under UAPA. He was tortured in custody and it is his indomitable spirit which the government is trying to crush.He was acquitted recently, in that case. Now, when state has started third phase of Operation Green Hunt and started attacking people and revolutionary forces in the name of SAMADHAN (as declared by Central Home Minister Rajnath Singh), Ragubhar Das Government of Jharkhand has attacked democratic voices and banned Majdoor Sanghatan Samiti (MSS) and arrested its members in false cases. Damodar Turi is also named in one of such First information Report (FIR) although he has never been member of MSS. State government want to silent his voice by bullying.But Damodar Turi stood forthrightly against such repressive moves of the Government and he played a forefront role in constituting Loktantar Bachao Manch against the fascist and repressive BJP regime in Jharkhand. The formation of Loktantar Bachao Manchand organizing program to mobilize people against repressive moves of Government defying state terror, became a trigger point and the government immediately arrested DamodarTuri.The program of Loktantar Bachao Manch from where Turi was arrested also highlighted as an anti-people measures of the BJP government in Jharkhand. Several of such anti people measures were resorted to earlier, including starvation deaths following the compulsory use of Aadhaar for availing Public Distribution System (PDS), the ban on MSS and the fake encounter of Motilal Baske.So far, it is being stated that Turi is arrested in the case related to organizing a public meeting and rally marking the 100 years of Bolshevik Revolution in Girdih, but it is apprehension that he may be implicated in false cases. Arrest of Damodar Turi, All India Convener of Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vikas Andolan (VVJVA) must be seen as a continuation of larger project of fascist Raghuwar Das government to crush every voice of dissent as it puts into practice the so-called ‘development’, which is nothing but open plunder of the resources which belong to the masses. RDF demands immediate and unconditional release of Damodar Turi and revoke the draconian ban on MSS and other organisations.Revolutionary Democratic Front also demands to stop Operation SAMADHAN, which is nothing but a tool to crush the voices of struggling masses that are opposing anti-people policies of the Government and immediately withdraw paramilitary forces from Jharkhand.Varavara raoPresident